So much average

Powerful

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Bristling drama with elements of what some have termed 'Newspaper Noir'. Bogart plays a big city Newspaper editor named Ed Hutchenson who finds out his paper is being sold. But, there's one big story his staff is investigating, one that provides both danger and opportunity. Local crime boss Tomas Reinzi (Martin Gabel) will do anything to stop the presses. Writer Director Richard Brooks (IN COLD BLOOD) has fashioned a corker of tale which not only champions the freedom of the press, but is packed with a terrific group of colorful characters and actors. Superb supporting cast including Kim Hunter, Warren Stevens, Ed Begley, Audrey Christie and Jim Backus. Ethel Barrymore plays the embattled Newspaper publisher with strength and dignity (a double bill with Spielberg's THE POST is in order with Streep playing a real life version of such a female publisher).DEADLINE USA occassionally can get a bit preachy, but, it's a solid, well-paced drama with a punch. Needless to say, it's message remains salient today. P.S. Bogart fans will enjoy a couple of in-jokes playing upon his past: 1. His line: "I've never been to Paris" 2. When he jokes when being forced into the bad guy's car: "Am I being taken for a ride?"

The film opens with a businessman being questioned in a courtoom, similar to the House Un-American Committee This newspaper may be sold, right in the middle of the biggest news story of the year. Stars Bogart as the editor, and Ethel Barrymore as Mrs. Garrison, the owner. and Jim Backus (Mr. Howell, from Gilligan's Island) is in here. Bogart tries to convince Mrs. Garrison to keep the paper going, but its an uphill battle. Not a lot of votes on imdb for this one, so TCM must not show it very often. Touching scene, where the reporters all hold a memorial for the paper in the bar.... even more prescient today, when there are very few papers left, and those few are an endangered species. Some similarites to Citizen Kane, where the respectable paper can't compete with the yellow, sensational papers for circulation. Written and directed by Richard Brooks, who was married to Jean Simmons. Pretty good stuff. I had never seen this one before. It really strikes a nerve today, with the interwebs really killing off newspapers.

A hardworking newspaper editor faces pressure from all quarters when a number of simultaneous developments look set to have a devastating impact on his life and the lives of the 1500 people who work with him. For some time, "The Day" had been striving to expose the crimes of New York's leading racketeer but on the same day that the state Senate Committee is forced to drop all charges brought against him, the newspaper is suddenly threatened with closure and the editor's ex-wife (who he's desperate to reconcile with), announces that she's planning to remarry as soon as possible. This perfect storm generates numerous plot strands and the ways in which they're so expertly weaved together, is one of this movie's best qualities.Editor of "The Day", Ed Hutcheson (Humphrey Bogart) is frustrated when he hears that notorious mob boss Tomas Rienzi (Martin Gabel) has escaped justice yet again and then attends a meeting during which it becomes clear that a dispute between the late owner's widow, Margaret Garrison (Ethel Barrymore) and her two daughters is likely to culminate in the imminent closure of the publication. After imparting this information to his fellow employees and attending a wake for the paper, he goes to see his ex-wife, Nora (Kim Hunter) who had divorced him because his commitment to his job had been so great that it had completely ruined their relationship. Nora still cares for Ed and allows him to stay at her apartment overnight but recognising that they have no future together, has recently agreed to marry her boss.Next morning, Ed is informed that the reporter he'd assigned to work on the Rienzi investigation, had been found badly beaten-up by the racketeer's thugs and this fires him up to devote all the resources he possibly can to discovering some evidence that can finally bring the full extent of Rienzi's crimes out into the open.Ed is an idealist who strongly adheres to the ethos of his newspaper by believing in the value of a free press, being totally committed to printing the truth and consistently avoiding sensationalism. This sets him apart from Ethel's two daughters who are only interested in getting richer by selling "The Day" to the publishers of its main rival who simply want to close it down to boost the circulation of their own paper.The Rienzi investigation takes an interesting turn when it emerges that a young woman whose drowned body had recently been recovered from a local river was, in fact, the gangster's mistress who had spent some of the money that he'd given her for safe-keeping and that her brother, Herman (Joe De Santis), had also been involved in facilitating her murder. When Herman agrees to tell his story for a large pay-off, it seems that a breakthrough has been reached but this proves to be a false dawn and it's only when an unexpected person steps forward with some compelling documentary evidence, that Ed feels able to go to print with the kind of story that will ensure that "The Day" goes out with a bang.The fact that this movie delivers its rather involved story in such a punchy way without ever compromising on character development is very impressive and testifies strongly to the quality of Richard Brooks' writing and direction. Powerful performances by its talented cast make all the characters seem very credible and the atmosphere of the busy newspaper office is brilliantly recreated on-screen. Humphrey Bogart's exceptional performance as the energetic, fearless and very determined editor also plays a huge part in driving the whole production forward and as well as being enjoyable to watch, is also worthy of far greater recognition than it's ever been given to date.

***SPOILER ALERT*** Solid newspaper drama that has a two tier storyline involving the hard hitting no nonsense managing editor Ed Hutcheson, Humphrey Bogart, of the big city newspaper "The Day". Hutcheson is involved in a number of crisis in the 87 minute film including his wife Nora, Kim Hunter, leaving him for another man her boss at the advertising agency Lewis Shaefer, Phillip Terry, with his newspaper about to be bought up with it's 1,500 employees.Hutcheson himself is also giving the pink slip and at the same time, with time running out, tries to get the goods on big time mobster Thomas Rienzi, Martin Gable. Rienzi had his estranged girlfriend former fashion model Sally Schmidt, Ann McCrea, murdered as well as have his thugs work over Hutcheson's star reporter George Borrows, Warren Stevens, who was about to break to case wide open. Knowing that there's little or no chance to save his newspaper "The Day" editor Hutcheson takes on a local murder case as the papers last headline story that in the end leads straight to city Mafiso chief Thomas Rienzi. Sally Schmidt, known as Bessie Gardner, had a falling out with her hoodlum boyfriend and was later found floating in the river. Sally had secretly put some $200,000.00 of Rienzi's hot money away in a bank safe deposit box that he was to use in fixing the city and state elections.Given the story Day reporter George Borrows ends up badly beaten by the Rienzi Mob which has Hutcheson go all out to get the mob chief at the expense of his own life and safety. With the help of a number of contacts in the State Boxing Commission Hutcheson gets to smoke out Sally's brother Herman, Joe de Santis,who unwittingly set poor Sally up for a mob hit. Rienzi in an effort to shut Herman up has a number of his hoods impersonate policemen as they kidnap Herman right out of the Day editor room and have him gunned down, and falling to his death on the news printing machines, as he tried to escape.With nothing on Thomas Rienzi Hutcheson is about to close the paper after the last and final edition but it's then when elderly Mrs. Schmidt, Kasia Orzazewski, Sally and Herman's mom shows up at the Day offices with enough evidence, that Sally secretly left her, to put the grinning and feeling secure Thomas Rienzi and his gang away for the rest of their lives.One of Humphrey Bogart's most underrated and forgotten films. "Deadline USA" is by far one, if not, the best motion picture about not only the newspaper business but free speech ever to come out of Hollywood in the last 50 or so years. We see in the film how the news is handled, by trying to ascertain and then confirm it, by a top and respected city daily. it was very sad to see ****SPOILER***that in the end Hutcheson lost his battle to keep "The Day" from going under by it being swallowed up by it's competition the tabloid newspaper "The Standard". Hutchenson getting the big mob boss Thomas Rienzi put out of action and behind bars was more then worth his courageous but losing effort.